Chapter 2618: The Secret of the Cultivation Method
The old man gazed at the graveyard before him, his eyes deep and profound. "The Great Venerable must have fallen."
"Why are you so certain?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
The old man said, "Because there was once a peerless genius of the Zhang Clan who cultivated the cultivation method left by the Great Venerable to its pinnacle, reaching the Supreme Realm Great Saint. To break through to the God Realm and revive the Zhang Clan, he ventured alone into this ancestral land, seeking the missing portion of the method."
"Deep within this ancestral land, he did not find the method but unexpectedly obtained a Divine Source."
"That Divine Source was the Great Venerable's."
"By a stroke of fate, this peerless genius refined that Divine Source and broke through to the God Realm."
"Was this peerless genius the later Jie Venerable?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
The old man said, "Correct."
Zhang Ruochen was curious. "How can you be sure that the Divine Source you refined was the Great Venerable's?"
"Heh, of course... it wasn't me, it was Jie Venerable." The old man glared at him.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Alright. How did Jie Venerable confirm that the Divine Source he refined was the Great Venerable's?"
"Divine Sources left by different gods naturally contain different auras. Back then, the Great Venerable was a Heavenly Venerable, revered by all heavens. Which god in the world could compare to his Divine Source? If I didn't have that discernment... if Jie Venerable didn't have that discernment, would he?" The old man showed no embarrassment, still putting on a brave face, unblushing and steady-hearted.
Zhang Ruochen agreed with this point.
After all, refining Divine Sources of different levels to become a False God resulted in significant differences in combat power. Of course, no matter how powerful a False God was, it was hard to defeat a True God.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Logically, the Great Venerable's Divine Source should contain infinite might, far more terrifying than the destructive power of a star. Could a Great Saint refine it?"
Whether in the Heavenly Court or Hell, the Divine Sources left by truly top-tier experts never appeared on False Gods.
First, no Saint-realm cultivator could refine such a powerful source.
Second, the Divine Sources of top experts were crucial even for True Gods.
"That's why I said that the Zhang Clan's peerless genius could refine the Great Venerable's Divine Source purely by chance. It must have been the Great Venerable's indestructible divine soul, in the unseen, that lent him a hand, wanting him to support the Zhang Clan and restore its glory from the ancient era."
The old man clasped his hands behind his back, brimming with pride. "You simply don't understand what it feels like for a Heavenly Venerable's clan to decline so rapidly. I am unwilling to accept it! The Great Venerable left his Divine Source to me, yet I cannot revitalize the clan. Every time I think of this, my heart breaks."
"Wasn't it Jie Venerable?" Zhang Ruochen said.
"Yes, it was Jie Venerable. He failed the Great Venerable's nurturing. Although the Great Venerable probably never intended to nurture him." The old man said.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "No, that's not right. Jie Venerable is just a False God, living only one Eon. How could he have survived from the Middle Ages until now?"
In fact, gods with limited lifespans, if they sensed themselves rapidly aging and their blood energy declining, making it hard to survive the Eon Calamity, would enter a slumber to prolong their lives.
Slumber was akin to a false death.
But Jie Venerable, though he had spent the last hundred thousand years underground in the Royal Mountain, claimed he was healing and refining death energy, not slumbering.
How could a False God still be alive and well?
Jie Venerable's eyes suddenly dimmed, tears glistening. "I have long calculated that this year is my final limit. I cannot hold on any longer."
"Ruochen, can you at least pity this old man? I have lived my entire life for the Zhang Clan, enduring hardships, working tirelessly, and diligently. Before I die, let me see a few more juniors in the Zhang Clan with the potential to become gods... Is that alright?"
The final "alright" was completely laced with a sorrowful, tearful tone.
It was supposed to be a very sad matter, but coming from his mouth, Zhang Ruochen couldn't quite believe it. "Are you admitting you are Jie Venerable?"
"Hmm! I admit it. It doesn't matter anymore. I am a dying man anyway." Jie Venerable's eyes were red, nodding with frank sincerity.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Since this year is your final limit, even if I wanted to contribute to the Zhang Clan, you, old sir, would probably not live to see it."
Jie Venerable's spirits lifted, pointing at Zhang Ruochen. "Agreed! I take that as your agreement! As long as you can produce offspring, I, this old man, can keep holding on."
He said this with great force.
There was not a trace of a decrepit old man about him.
Zhang Ruochen felt tricked. This old man seemed like a drama queen.
But if he really was just a False God, his lifespan might indeed be short.
"I didn't agree." Zhang Ruochen said.
The old man said, "You clearly agreed! Anyway, I don't care. You've agreed, and backing out is useless. If you back out, you're untrustworthy, you're betraying your ancestors, you're a turtle bastard. Then don't blame me for using extreme measures. Remember clearly, I never forced you. You agreed first."
Zhang Ruochen finally understood why the old man claimed he never forced Zhang Shaochu or Mingjiang King.
With his relentless tactics, who could withstand it?
Zhang Ruochen didn't take the old man's words to heart. "You said earlier that you cultivated the Great Venerable's method to its peak, only reaching the Supreme Realm Great Saint? Even you don't have the subsequent cultivation method? Does the 'Thirty-Three Heavens' only have nine levels passed down by the Great Venerable?"
The old man's expression turned unusually serious. "I'm not sure if the method passed down by the Great Venerable is truly incomplete, which is why no later Zhang Clan descendant has been able to cultivate to the God Realm."
"The cultivation method you practice does greatly influence breaking through to godhood, but it's not absolute."
"What affects godhood the most is still the state of mind, Sacred Dao Rules, the Divine Tribulation, and of course, the Sacred Will."
Zhang Ruochen took a long chair from his Space Ring. "Sit down and speak slowly."
The two sat on the chairs.
Jie Venerable said, "In fact, 'Thirty-Three Heavens' is not the name of the Zhang Clan's inherited method. That's what outsiders call it. Within the Zhang Clan, it's called the 'Bright King Scripture.' Of course, after the Middle Ages, the Holy Bright Central Empire established by the Zhang Clan renamed it the 'Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture.'"
"Why do outsiders call it the 'Thirty-Three Heavens'?" Zhang Ruochen asked curiously.
Jie Venerable said, "Legend has it that when the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable was in a state of extreme combat, the heavenly dome above his head could increase from twenty-seven layers to thirty-three layers. In that state, the Great Venerable was invincible under heaven."
"Why is the Great Venerable called the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable? Because in that state, even standing still, he could suppress everything with just the thirty-three heavens."
"I thought 'immovable' referred to the Great Venerable's inner heart, unshakable by anyone." Zhang Ruochen muttered.
Jie Venerable said, "Did you also think that 'Thirty-Three Heavens' meant there were thirty-three levels of the method?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled.
Jie Venerable said, "In truth, the 'Bright King Scripture' is more like laying a foundation for cultivators, a bridge to the God Realm. It teaches you how to open meridians, the energy circulation paths for each realm, and how to cultivate supremely powerful Saint Qi. That's all."
"How to apply it ultimately depends on the cultivator themselves."
"For example, you chose to cultivate the Five Elements Chaos Body, split your Saint Soul into six parts, broke through to the Great Perfection of Saint King, and cultivated a Second-Rank Sacred Intent. That's your own application of the method. No other Zhang Clan descendant cultivating the 'Bright King Scripture' can replicate your achievements or walk your path."
"The 'Bright King Scripture' as a foundation is important, but you yourself are even more important."
Zhang Ruochen said, "So, every Zhang Clan descendant who cultivates the 'Bright King Scripture' achieves different results?"
Jie Venerable said, "You can understand it that way. The 'Bright King Scripture' is the best paper, the best ink, the best brush, but whether you can paint the best painting depends on the cultivator."
"Does that mean after the God Realm, one must create their own method?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Jie Venerable said, "Any method, including the heavenly scriptures and precious codes on the 'Supreme Divine Method List,' is most important before the God Realm. Cultivators rely on it more. After reaching the God Realm, their dependence on methods decreases."
"At most, a method explains the characteristics of each realm in the God Realm and how to break through faster. These things are largely similar."
"As for the circulation of Divine Qi, from the height a god stands at, if they still need a method to tell them how to circulate energy, that would be a huge joke."
"The only advantage might be that the gods who cultivated that method left behind Dao comprehension diagrams, cultivation insights, and divine abilities that match the method, which can greatly help new gods."
"Is it really because of the missing method that Zhang Clan descendants find it hard to become gods?" Zhang Ruochen muttered to himself.
Jie Venerable shook his head, speaking cautiously. "Not necessarily."
"What do you mean?"
Jie Venerable said, "The Zhang Clan has many talented descendants, especially in the ancient and medieval times. How could a missing method alone prevent them from becoming gods? I suspect it might be a curse from the Underworld Clan!"
"Would the Underworld Clan dare to curse the Great Venerable?"
"Of course, no one dared to curse while the Great Venerable was alive. But after his death, his former enemies could very well target his descendants. At the same time, they wanted to prevent another Zhang Clan descendant from reaching the Great Venerable's level, suppressing Hell, including the Underworld Clan, so they couldn't raise their heads."
"Do you think my guess makes sense?"
"Heh heh!"
Zhang Ruochen smiled, thinking the old man was making excuses for his inability to become a god. "My father broke through to the God Realm in Hell."
Jie Venerable, convinced his guess was reasonable, grew agitated. "Ten Eons have passed. Even the strongest curse would have faded. The one who cast the curse back then must be dead. Besides, it's possible your father cultivated a different method in Hell. Or maybe Yunshen Daozhu helped him break the curse. There are many possibilities!"
Zhang Ruochen wasn't interested in this. He believed the God Realm shouldn't stop him. Curious, he asked, "How many Divine Throne Planets did the Great Venerable condense back then? Since you refined his Divine Source, can you mobilize the power of those planets?"
Jie Venerable stood up, pointing at the sky. "Cultivating the 'Bright King Scripture' doesn't condense Divine Throne Planets. It only cultivates the heavenly dome above the head. One heavenly dome, one world."
Zhang Ruochen looked up and faintly saw the shadow of eighteen heavenly domes above Jie Venerable's head.
The Great Venerable had twenty-seven heavenly domes, yet he had only inherited eighteen?
Ruined!
The Great Venerable's Divine Source was wasted on him.
Zhang Ruochen naturally didn't say this out loud, since he couldn't beat him now.
Zhang Ruochen looked again at the layered grand tombs covered in nine-colored divine light. "Who helped you refine the Divine Source back then? I don't believe you could do it on your own!"